Liquid pumps are used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to control the flow of chemicals to semiconductor manufacturing tools. Conventional pumps include those that pneumatically activate a bladder to precisely control the quantity of liquid delivered to the tools. Precise control of the liquid is important because each wafer is very valuable and an incorrect flow of the liquid to the tool can spoil the construction of integrated circuits fabricated on the wafer.
Semiconductor manufacturing facilities are expensive. A modern plant can cost in excess of $3 billion. Consequently, space is critical and every square foot of space in the facility must be allocated to productive equipment. Accordingly, techniques of space reduction are greatly desired because space reduction can result in substantial cost savings. Improving space utilization leads to greater production efficiency which allows the facility to produce more integrated circuits.
While conventional liquid pumps have the accurate flow control necessary for the integrated circuit fabrication process, conventional pumps are bulky, a pump is required for each liquid sought to be delivered to the tools, and the pumps can take up a significant amount of space in the chemical delivery cabinets installed in the semiconductor manufacturing facility.
What is needed is a pump that has a small size and that also provides the ability to precisely pump the required liquid to the tool. A goal of the invention is to overcome the identified limitations and to provide a compact dual pump that can simultaneously and independently pump two liquids to the tool.